Growth key topic at farm summit in New Paltz

NEW PALTZ — The sustainability of Hudson Valley agriculture depends on addressing myriad marketing, financing and operational challenges that have been passed down to today's young farmers.

James Walsh

NEW PALTZ — The sustainability of Hudson Valley agriculture depends on addressing myriad marketing, financing and operational challenges that have been passed down to today's young farmers.

That was a common sentiment heard Friday at "Mid-Hudson Agriculture: Growing our Economy and our Communities" a summit that drew a diverse group of 136 people, including farmers, educators, environmentalists, and government officials to SUNY New Paltz.

High land prices and property taxes, costly equipment, a shortage of capable workers, and the penchant of households to choose processed foods over fresh produce conspire to make farming a challenge at best and stressful at worst, speakers and others said.

Not all, though, was doom and gloom.

Deborah DeWan, executive director of Rondout Valley Growers, a nonprofit group promoting the products and causes of farmers, saw "a perfect storm" of favorable conditions swirling over the region.

There's a growing interest in eating locally grown foods to reduce the carbon footprint, she said, as well for a fresher product.

That, in turn, promotes farm markets, which give growers a chance to bypass the middleman in the distribution chain.

Marketing, though, can be a sore point. Oleh Maczaj of the Rusty Plough Farm in Ellenville wondered about marketing to the microwave, pour-it-out-of-a-box crowd.

"How do we break the cycle of parents relying on packaged products?" he asked.

"It's predicated on people cooking again," said Ken Kleinpeter of Glynwood Farm in Cold Spring. "It's almost as fast as those prepared foods if you do it right."

Pricing is also an issue, and a reason for more dialogue between farmers and the community around them.

Michael Migliore of the Whitecliff Vineyard and Winery in Gardiner said people need to understand his products cost more than a wine from Chile because of labor expenses. "In order for my staff to live decently, I have to charge more," he said.

Julie Suarez, public policy director for the New York Farm Bureau, acknowledged a need to "bridge the divide" between the farmers, the consumers and government policy-makers.

"We can't just do it on our own anymore," Suarez said.

"The farm community is just too small. Farmers need to start engaging more with the neighbor down the road."